Table Of ContentDrought Assessment, Management,
and Planning
NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND POLICY
Editors:
Ariel Dinar David Zilberrnan
Dept. of Agricultural Economics Dept. of Agricultural and
University of California, Davis Resource Economics
Davis, CA 95616-8512 University of California, Berkeley
107 Giannini Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720
EDITORIAL STATEMENT
There is a growing awareness to the role that natural resources such as water,
land, forests and environmental amenities play in our lives. There are many
competing uses for natural resources, and society is challenged to manage them
for improving social well being. Furthermore, there may be dire consequences
to natural resources mismanagement. Renewable resources such as water, land
and the environment are linked, and decisions made with regard to one may
affect the others. Policy and management of natural resources now require
interdisciplinary approach including natural and social sciences to correctly
address our society preferences.
This series provides a collection of works containing most recent findings on
economics, management and policy of renewable biological resources such as
water, land, crop protection, sustainable agriculture, technology, and
environmental health. It incorporates modem thinking and techniques of
economics and management. Books in this series will incorporate knowledge
and models of natural phenomena with economics and managerial decision
frameworks to assess alternative options for managing natural resources and
environment.
This book is a timely collection of theory and case studies addressing drought
assessment, management and planning. The book includes up-to-date techniques
used to cope with drought at local, regional and national levels. The book
includes also case studies from countries which have a long-standing history of
drought, and have accumulated drought experience over time. This experience
is shared with the reader for a better understanding of future drought awareness.
The Series &litors
Previously Published Books in the Serie.<;
Russell, Clifford S. and Shogren, Jason F.:
Theol)l, Modeling and Experience in the Mallagemellf of No"poiflt-Source
Pollutioll
Drought Assessment, Management,
and Planning:
Theory and Case Studies
edited by
Donald A. Wilhite
~.
SPRINGER SCIENC"E+BU SINESS MEDIA, LLC
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Drought assessment, management, and planning : theory and case studies / edited
by Donald A. Wilhite.
p. em.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-4613-6416-0 ISBN 978-1-4615-3224-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-3224-8
1. Droughts. 2. Droughts--Case studies. 3. Droughts--Management.
4. Droughts--Government policy. 1. Wilhite, Donald A.
QC929.24.D76 1993
363.3'492--dc20 93-22111
CIP
Copyright © 1993 by Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers, New York in 1993
Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover Ist edition 1993
AII rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced. stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photo-copying, recording,
or otherwise. without the prior written permission of the publishers, Springer Science +
Business Media, LLC.
Printed on acid-free paper.
To my wife, Myra
Contents
Preface ................................................................................................................. ix
Acknowledgments .............................................................................................. xiii
Part One: Theory
Chapter 1
The Enigma of Drought
Donald A. Wilhite .................... .............................................................................. 3
Chapter 2
Monitoring Regional Drought Conditions
Kenneth G. Hubbard ........................................................................................... 17
Chapter 3
The Role of NOAA Satellite Data in Drought Early Warning and Monitoring:
Selected Case Studies
Gary E. Johnson, V. Rao Achutuni,
S. Thiruvengadachari, and Felix Kogan .............................................................. 31
Chapter 4
Assessing the Regional Consequences of Drought:
Putting the MINK Methodology to Work on Today's Problems
William E. Easterling ........................................................ .................................. 49
Chapter 5
Agricultural Drought Management Strategies to Alleviate Impacts:
Examples from the Arid and Subhumid Regions of the Indian Subcontinent
A. S. R. A. S. Sastri .............................................................................................. 65
Chapter 6
Planning for Drought: A Methodology
Donald A. Wilhite ................................................................................................ 87
Chapter 7
Implications of Global Warming for Climate Variability
and the Occurrence of Extreme Climate Events
Linda O. Mearns ............................................................................................... 109
viii
Part Two: Case Studies
Chapter 8
Drought Risk and Water Management in Israel:
Planning for the Future
Hendrik J. Bruins .............................................................................................. 133
Chapter 9
Indian Drought Management:
From Vulnerability to Resilience
A. R. Subbiah ..................................................................................................... 157
Chapter 10
Drought and Policy Responses in the Brazilian Northeast
Antonio Rocha Magalhiies ................................................................................. 181
Chapter 11
Drought Policy in the Republic of South Africa
J. J. Bruwer ....................................................................................................... 199
Chapter 12
Drought in Australia:
Prediction, Monitoring, Management, and Policy
David White, Drew Collins, and Mark Howden .................................................. 213
Chapter l3
Drought Mitigation in the United States:
Progress by State Government
Donald A. Wilhite and Steven L. Rhodes ............................................................ 237
Chapter 14
Institutional Responses to the 1987-92 California Drought
James Rich ........................................................................................................ 253
Chapter 15
Drought in China:
Present Impacts and Future Needs
Kerang Li and Xianchao Lin .............................................................................. 263
Index ................................................................................................................. 291
Preface
Drought is an insidious hazard of nature. It originates from a deficiency of
precipitation that results in a water shortage for some activity or some group. Africa
has suffered the most dramatic impacts from drought during the past several decades-
the recent droughts in the southern and eastern portions of the continent are testimony
to that fact. However, the vulnerability of all nations to extended periods of water
shortage has been underscored again and again during this same time period. In the
past decade alone, droughts have occurred with considerable frequency and severity in
most of the developed and developing world. Significant parts of North and South
America, Australia, Europe, and Asia have been plagued recently by extended periods
of severe drought, often resulting in far-reaching economic, social, and environmental
consequences. In the western United States, for example, vast areas are facing the
prospects of a sixth or seventh consecutive year of drought in 1993.
Concern by members ofthe scientific and policy communities about the inability
of governments to respond in an effective and timely manner to drought and its
associated impacts exists worldwide. Numerous "calls for action" for improved drought
planning and management have been issued by national governments, professional
organizations, intergovernmental organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and
others. The United Nations' International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
(lDNDR) is yet another example of an international call for action to reduce the impacts
that result from drought and other natural hazards. However, the task of altering the
perception of policy makers and scientists about drought and educating them about
alternative management approaches is a formidable challenge. Governments typically
treat drought as a rare and random event that is inherently unpredictable; they are
unprepared to respond effectively when it occurs. Effective drought response requires
long-range planning, a difficult assignment for most governments.
Many scientists and policy makers now have an improved understanding of drought
and its economic, social, and environmental impacts. Although impediments to
drought planning exist, recent progress has created a sense of cautious optimism that
society is steadily moving toward ahigher level of preparedness. Also, technologies and
information are available that would enable countries to more effectively mitigate the
effects of drought through the development of a more proactive and systematic risk
management approach.'
, For example, see D. A. Wilhite and W. E. Easterling, eds. 1987. Planning for Drought: Toward a Reduction
of Societal Vulnerability. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.
x Drought Assessment, Management, and Planning
Awareness, understanding, and appreciation of drought and its effects within the
scientific and policy communities has been enhanced in the past decade through a series
of notable events. First, the occurrence of severe drought worldwide during and
following the extreme El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event of 1982-83 captured
the attention of governments by highlighting the vulnerability of all nations. The
drought of 1988 in the United States, for example, resulted in costs and losses of nearly
$40 billion.2 Second, it appears that societal vulnerability to drought is increasing,
largely because of population growth and society's increasing demand and competition
for limited water and other natural resources. Population growth is putting added
pressure on fragile lands. Third, many governments now have a better appreciation of
the costs associated with drought. These costs include not only the direct impacts of
drought but also the indirect costs (Le., personal hardship, relief costs, retardation of
economic development, and accelerated environmental degradation). Nations can no
longer afford to allocate scarce financial resources to often short-sighted response
programs that do little to mitigate, and may in fact exacerbate, the effects of future
drought.
Given society's increasing vulnerability to drought and the uncertainties about
future changes in climate, including the possible increased frequency and severity of
extreme climatic events, improving the level of preparedness for the recurrence of
drought represents an important step forward. Walter Orr Roberts, president emeritus
of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, recently stated,
"One logical approach, even in the face of great uncertainty about future climate, is to
improve our ability to manage current climate extremes. Unlike global control of
greenhouse gas emissions, international cooperation is not needed for many such
adjustments to succeed; thus nations or regions that instigate them will be rewarded
unilaterally. "3
This book is dedicated to furthering scientific understanding ofd rought assessment
and management and the policy issues associated with drought preparedness world-
wide. The authors invited to contribute to this volume are uniquely qualified to address
their respective topics. The book is divided into two parts. Part One emphasizes
theoretical aspects of drought assessment, management, and preparedness; it also
includes a discussion of the concept of drought. These chapters are aimed at improving
2 A case study of the 1987-89 drought in the United States was completed recently (1990) by W. E. Riebsame,
S. A. Changnon, and T. R. Karl, Drought and Natural Resources Management in the United States (Westview
Press, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.).
1 Roberts, W. O. 1990. Global climate change as a hazard [editorial). NatIOnal Hazards Observer 13(6):1-2.
Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado,
U.S.A.
Preface xi
the reader's understanding and awareness of drought; appropriate technologies to
monitor drought's onset, development, and termination; emerging methodologies to
estimate impacts; adjustment strategies to alleviate drought effects; and a methodology
for countries to follow in the development of a national drought policy and plan. Part
One concludes with an insightful examination of how changes in climate may alter
climatic variability and the frequency and intensity of extreme events, particularly
drought.
The successes and failures of previous assessment and response efforts are
highlighted in Part Two through case studies of Israel, India, Brazil, South Africa,
Australia, the United States, and China. Several of these case studies provide insights
into the difficulties inherent in the provision of timely and effective drought assistance
by government in both a developed and developing country setting. The lessons learned
in these instances provide both an extraordinary opportunity and challenge to other
drought-prone nations to learn from these experiences and avoid some of the mistakes
of the past. Some of the case studies in Part Two illustrate remarkable progress in
drought preparedness and are examples for other nations to follow.
If society is to diminish vulnerability to future episodes of drougbt, then we must
be better prepared for its inevitable recurrence and implement policies and plans that
promote the minimization of risk in agricultural and other weather-sensiti ve industries.
It is only through this effort that society will be able to reduce vulnerability to drought.
Donald A. Wilhite
